None of the recent chatter about UCLA linebacker Anthony Barr’s supposed falling stock mattered. The Minnesota Vikings drafted him ninth overall, making him the top Bruin taken since 1996. That year, offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden went fourth to start a Hall of Fame career.

A consensus All-American, Barr will find two former UCLA teammates already waiting for him: punter Jeff Locke and offensive lineman Jeff Baca, whom the Vikings drafted in the fifth and sixth rounds last year.

Barr’s top-10 selection also marked the first time UCLA has produced a first-round pick in back-to-back years since 2001 and 2002. In 2013, the Green Bay Packers took defensive lineman Datone Jones at 26th overall. Jones congratulated his soon-to-be NFC North rival on Twitter.

“When you draw it up, does he look like Jason Taylor or what?” said NFL Network’s Mike Mayock, comparing Barr to the six-time Pro Bowler. “That’s kind of how he plays.”

The Vikings swapped picks with the Cleveland Browns, moving down one spot to No. 9 in exchange for an additional fifth-round draft pick. That they opted for Barr provided a fitting end to a college career that veered from one extreme to another.

Coming out of Loyola High, he was a four-star athlete who was insistent on trying his hand at offense — one of the reasons he opted to join then-head coach Rick Neuheisel at UCLA. But two years as a hybrid fullback/tight end resulted in just 17 carries and 12 catches. He thought about transferring, then elected to switch to outside linebacker when the program hired Jim Mora.

The results were nothing short of incredible. Even with an injury-shortened training camp, Barr racked up stats as a junior and ended that season as a potential first- or second-round pick. After returning to UCLA, he upped his career tally to 41.5 tackles for loss and 23.5 sacks. Both marks were good for sixth all-time in the school record books.

That inexperience is one reason that Barr drewed mixed reactions from analysts in past weeks. Some felt that meant the 6-foot-4 linebacker still had his best football ahead of him, while others considered him too big of a risk to take in the top 20.

Even while insisting last summer that he wouldn’t swap Barr for any other defender in the country, Mora called him a “neophyte” at his position. Mayock pointed out that as impressive as Barr looks at times, he could be even better if he learns how to use his hands and develops a counter move.

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“He has no idea what he’s doing,” Mayock said. “It’s just natural ability, dip and go. It’s all speed, all natural ability. … But trust me folks, a lot of upside, and Mike Zimmer and that staff will get it out of him. He’ll be special.”

Zimmer, whom Minnesota hired as its head coach in January, had worked as an NFL defensive coordinator since 2000, and was eventually regarded as one of the league’s top assistants.